Carlos Lopez

Carlos is a human from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Carlos Lopez is a typical kid. He goes to school, he likes to skateboard, he hangs around giant transforming alien robots, fantasizes about holographic dead girls, and happily propagates ethnic stereotypes.

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

Armada cartoon

Voice actor: Matt Hill (English), Yukie Maeda (Japanese), Leo Hallerstam (Swedish), Joni Kesti (Finnish), Jimmy Redler (French), Jan Makino (German), Simone Crisari (Italian), Inés Blázquez (Castilian Spanish), Víctor Díaz (Latin-American Spanish), Caio César (Brazilian Portuguese)

Holy frijoles!

One day, Carlos and his best friend Rad went exploring into the caverns deep beneath Cosmoscope Research Center. Inside, they found the curious remains of a clearly artificial construction, seemingly far in advance of human technology. Rad discovered a Mini-Con storage panel half buried in the rubble, and against Carlos' advice, his friend was drawn towards the strange object. Touching it, the entire structure began to shake, suddenly springing to life as thousands of computers lit up the walls.

At home, Alexis felt the tremors and used her computer to pinpoint the epicenter of the apparent earthquake as the mountain caverns that Rad and Carlos were exploring. Similarly, the scientists and researchers at the observatory were baffled by the sudden movement of the Earth. As Rad and Carlos made their escape with the artifact, a bright light engulfed the chamber they were in, simultaneously shutting down all electronic equipment in Lincoln, as well as emitting three distinctly coloured distress signals beams into the sky.

Had a toy been made, Rad would have been Carlos's Mini-Con.

One beam, green, reached an ancient starship wreck on the dark side of the moon, causing it to fire hundreds of smaller beams of green light at the Earth. The two remaining signal beams, coloured red and purple, continued deep into space until it reached Cybertron.

Emerging from the cave with Rad, Carlos turned to see a huge glowing purple sphere of pulsating energy floating in mid-air, which soon solidified into a huge robot. This being was Megatron, supreme leader of the evil Decepticons. As he tried to take the object Rad had found, which had now revealed itself to be High Wire, a sought-after Mini-Con, suddenly another massive robot ordered Megatron to stand down. He was Optimus Prime, leader of the heroic Autobots. As the pair grappled, Rad mused that somehow this was all his fault. First Encounter

After being joined by Alexis, the kids attempted to flee on High Wire, but were stopped by the arrival of Starscream and Demolishor. Demolishor tried to grab the boys, but they were saved by the arrival of Hot Shot and Red Alert. Rad fled back into the cave, calling Carlos and Alexis after him. High Wire led the three into a smaller room, to Alexis's further distress; Rad and Carlos, however, assured her that they'd be safer there.

While in this room, High Wire activated a hidden storage panel, revealing Grindor and Sureshock; Grindor bonded with Carlos, and Sureshock to Alexis. They took their new friends out to play in the woods, but ran into Megatron. The timely arrival of Optimus Prime initially seemed to Rad and Carlos to make things worse, but when Alexis said she trusted the big Autobot, the boys admitted to one another that they did so as well.

(N.B.)E.T

Optimus Prime took them into his cab and sped off to a distant location, where he set them down. Unfortunately, Megatron had followed close behind, and so Optimus had to combine with his trailer to fight him off Metamorphosis.

The commanders' battle caused a landslide to fall on the kids, but they were shielded by Hot Shot. They then dug up some more Mini-Cons, but two of those were stolen by Cyclonus.

The Decepticons retreated, and so the kids and robots made proper introductions. The kids offered to help the Autobots in their mission, and introduced them to the custom of bumping fists.

The next day at school, Billy grilled them over recent earthquakes; Rad and Carlos played dumb, while Alexis pointed out that if there was an earthquake, it would have been mentioned on the news. When Billy asked where he'd gotten his new skateboard, Carlos claimed his dad had owned it in the eighties and passed it down to him. He and Rad went on up to the mountain; on the way, they met up with Alexis, who chewed them out for nearly blowing their cover.

Up at the Autobots' base, Optimus Prime gave them Laserbeak to help in their reconnaissance efforts. Right then, another Mini-Con was detected, Base and Carlos recognised the location as the Big Canyon. The kids ran out with the Autobots, getting spiffy new adventure suits on the way.

When they got to the canyon, Carlos hopped into Red Alert. He had a good time off-roading, but after a while Red Alert decided it was time to get serious, and they continued on foot. They got lost, then found the others again just as the Decepticons arrived. Optimus Prime claimed the Mini-Con - who turned out to be his old partner, Sparkplug - and the kids helped dig up Hot Shot form where he'd gotten himself buried. Comrade

Hot Shot's popularity increased quite a lot once he dumped Carlos in the Antarctic.

Later, they played tag with Hot Shot, which got him in trouble with Optimus Prime as he was supposed to be helping Red Alert install some equipment. They then went to find a new Mini-Con in Antarctica, where Rad and Alexis rode in Red Alert while Carlos went with Hot Shot. Carlos and Hot Shot came under attack from Starscream, but were saved by Red Alert's quick thinking and advance preparation. Soldier

When the next Mini-Con was detected in a forest, Carlos found a path that had been cut down by illegal loggers, prompting Rad to make a speech about how important it is to protect the environment. When the Decepticons started a fire, he helped get the animals to safety, but this had the unfortunate effect of letting Starscream get his hands on the Mini-Con. Jungle

Sari handled this a lot better.

Back at the base, the kids tried to work out how to activate the dormant Mini-Con they'd found in Antarctica. When High Wire explained it was sleeping, Carlos tried to think of ways to wake it up, while Alexis thought it best to leave it alone so it could awaken in its own good time. Carlos and Rad fell for the old "pass me that spanner that's clearly too big for your species to lift" joke and, seeing there was nothing they could do to help, decided to take High Wire and Grindor to a local carnival, followed by Sparkplug, Longarm, and Jolt.

At the carnival, the boys were initially concerned that bringing five alien robots to a crowded area might blow their cover, but quickly came up with the idea of telling everyone they were super-advanced human-developed robots that would be available for purchase in the future. After a while, the boys tried to take the robots home, but it turned out that Billy and Fred were also at the carnival, and got suspicious. They tried to capture one of the Mini-Con, causing the entire situation to descend into slapstick farce.

They were saved by the timely arrival of Hot Shot, Sureshock, and Alexis, who managed to get things under control, swore Billy and Fred to secrecy, and gave the lads a good scolding. As punishment, Rad and Carlos had to clean up their quarters back at the base. Carlos thought he saw something happen with the dormant Mini-Con panel, but nothing more came of it. Carnival

"Okay, go ahead and say it." "Holy Frijoles!"

The kids later accompanied the Autobots to the Sahara Desert, and fell into a sand pit after an altercation with Demolishor. They found themselves in an ancient temple, where they were attacked by ancient guardian robots, but fortunately Demolishor was there to blow them up. Further into the temple, they found a Mini-Con storage panel; Carlos accidentally activated a trap, and Rad knocked him out of the way. After that, the floor collapsed, but Perceptor was able to rescue them. Demolishor got the Mini-Con. Palace

The next day, back in America, Billy and Fred pursued the three to the Autobot base. Rad, Carlos, and Alexis all tried to outrun them, but soon had to split up when Cyclonus attempted to capture them.

The three met up again at the Autobot base, but Laserbeak (along with Billy and Fred) had been kidnapped by Cyclonus. They tracked Laserbeak to a ghost town, where the kids tried to rescue the bullies, but all ended up being captured by Megatron, who demanded Optimus Prime hand over all their Autobots' Mini-Cons in exchange for the humans' lives. Optimus Prime went through with it, but Megatron, naturally, refused to hand them over. However, Rad was able to use Laserbeak to free all the other humans, and Hot Shot was able to rescue Rad with Fred's surprising help. Confrontation

The day after that, the three sought out a Mini-Con in a subway system, while being followed by a disguised Smokescreen. Carlos personally pulled the Mini-Con storage panel out of a rock face. Right at that point, Smokescreen attacked them, forcing them to flee deeper into the tunnels.The kids fled deeper into the tunnels, and holed up in a convenient cave. They were found by the Decepticons, but Smokescreen came to the rescue, seeing that these fleshlings must be the good guys if Megatron was their enemy. Unfortunately, Cyclonus managed to get the Mini-Con. Underground

A while after that, the Autobots received a transmission from Atlantis and took the kids with them to search for yet another Mini-Con. Carlos was somewhat disappointed when he heard about their objective, as he was hoping to rescue the girl from the transmission.

At the ruins of Atlantis, while the Autobots fought the Decepticons, the kids went inside to look around. A holographic display activated, and Carlos chased after the hologram of Amphitrite; Rad and Alexis followed. 'Amphitrite' gave them a canned history of Atlantis, focusing on how its inhabitants used the Star Saber to dominate the world, and were eventually defeated by another civilisation who wielded the Skyboom Shield. Despite this warning of the danger of the Mini-Cons' power, the kids decided to find the Mini-Con in Atlantis anyway, but it was claimed by Leader-1 for the Decepticons. Dejected, the kids left with Optimus Prime; Carlos initially tried to take Amphitrite with him, apparently forgetting she was just a recording. Ruin

He accompanied the Autobots to a volcanic island when they searched for the next Mini-Con, though Carlos hesitated to go along with Alexis idea of scouring the island while all the Transformers present fought each other. They instead settled on using Laserbeak to do the searching for them. Though the kids nearly got cooked by a lava flow, they managed to return to headquarters safely after the Autobots added another Mini-Con to their collection. Prehistory

After that adventure, the trio decided to give Billy and Fred a tour of the Autobot base, but were separated when the Decepticons attacked. Since the bullies were in danger of the automatic defenses, said defenses were shut off, allowing the Decepticons to penetrate deeper into the base that anyone would have liked. To make matters worse, Carlos and the other kids were nearly taken by Cyclonus. However, after a battle, the Star Saber was reassembled and in the hands of Hot Shot, so the day ultimately turned out all right. Swoop

The next day, Carlos and Rad tried to sort out the human quarters on the base while Alexis and Sureshock were out shopping. For some reason, the fridge was full of tools. Overmatch

Carlos would disagree with Billy that Hot Shot was the most powerful Transformer in the universe because he possessed the Star Saber. Alexis soon tracked down another Mini-Con, and the trio, plus Billy and Fred, rushed off with the Autobots to cheer them on; Rad and Carlos rode in Hot Shot. Hot Shot let the boys out so that he could focus on fighting Cyclonus, at which point Sideways arrived, apparently an Autobot himself.

The battle went on, with Smokescreen finally claiming the Mini-Con. Back at the base, Carlos translated Spiral's offer to give Fred a ride, while Rad and Alexis discussed their misgivings regarding Sideways. Gale Speaking of Sideways, the treacherous motorcycle soon took Hot Shot to the moon in order to deliver the Star Saber into Decepticon hands. While Hot Shot was missing, Carlos was certain he'd return safely, but the Autobots and the rest of the humans were, understandably, not so sure. They were proven correct; Hot Shot was returned to headquarters barely alive, minus his sword and his partner; Sideways had betrayed the Autobots! Credulous

With Hot Shot feeling naturally depressed about this disaster, all five kids tried to cheer him up by making silly faces. They also helped the Autobots on their search for the next Mini-Con, and managed to find it at the same time as Blackout, and after a scuffle, it was taken by Scavenger for the Decepticons. Soon after, however, Scavenger came over to the Autobots, and revealed he had been a double agent all along. Conspiracy

In the aftermath of Sideways' betrayal, the trio weren't exactly eager to trust Scavenger. He seemed to be more interested in sleeping than mentoring Hot Shot, but when the kids tried to raise this with Optimus Prime, his explanation was cut short by the detection of still another Mini-Con. The Autobots warped off to somewhere with a lot of snow, while the kids observed from back at base. Scavenger heroically saved Optimus Prime's life, very nearly plunging to his own death, and so the kids (and Smokescreen) apologised to him for their earlier suspicions when he got back, Scavenger accepted with characteristic stoicism. Trust

Some time after that happened, the boys went on a camping trip, though forgot to tell Alexis about it. Rad tried to catch a fish while the others splashed around in the water, joined by a little boy named Shaun.

That evening, in spite of an earlier forecast for nice weather, a fierce storm blew in. The boys and Autobots tried to get back to base; however, a landslide trapped Carlos and Shaun inside Red Alert beneath a huge pile of mud. The other Autobots came to the rescue while Rad and Laserbeak distracted the reporters in the area, and everybody headed back to the Autobot base as soon as Red Alert was dug up. There, Alexis was waiting on tenterhooks. The boys taunted her for being concerned for their lives, leading Alexis to chase Carlos around the corridors Vacation.

All five kids observed the battle in which Blurr made his first appearance. They tried to make friends with the new arrival, but he turned out to belong to the monosyllabic loner school of heroism. Carlos, Fred, and Billy pressed the issue, and nearly got blown up for their troubles. However, Blurr did mellow out a little when his refusal to work as a team led to the Decepticons getting their servos on Downshift, so it mostly turned out all right. Reinforcement

The next day, Blurr and Hot Shot trained together while the kids watched. They also congratulated Smokescreen for succeeding in a test where Hot Shot failed, even though Hot Shot only failed because he was competing with Blurr in addition to trying to dodge the obstacles.

This session was interrupted when Megatron challenged all the Autobots to a final, decisive battle. Due to the danger, the kids were left at the base to watch the proceedings from afar. Megatron would have won if Optimus Prime hadn't managed to get his hands on the Skyboom shield, and when the Star Saber was used against the shield. This light streaked off into space, to awaken Unicron. Decisive Battle

Despite this victory, Optimus Prime decided the situation was too dangerous for the kids and barred them from the base. Frustrated, they wandered off, but were soon joined by the Street Action Mini-Con Team, who had received a transmission from the Decepticon-allied Mini-Cons on the Moon. While Rad and Fred went to tell Optimus Prime, the rest of the kids went with the Mini-Cons to the Warp Gate where the 'bots who contacted them were supposed to teleport in. Carlos was almost crushed by Megatron's sudden arrival, and then saw the Decepticon leader teleporting away with Rad, Fred, and four of the Autobots. Carlos accompanied Alexis, Billy, and the Mini-Cons back to the Autobot base to try and establish contact. They did, with the result that the Autobots gained several new Mini-Cons. Vow

After that adventure, the kids were allowed back into the base again, but were no longer taken on missions. As a result, Carlos quickly got bored, while Alexis got stroppy with him and Rad tried to keep the two from each other's throats. Despite not being at the front of the action, the war would still impinge on their lives when Sideways hacked the Autobots' computer system. Despite Rad and Alexis' best efforts, Sideways' virus quickly took control of the base and projected himself into it. Faced with no other options, the trio resorted to physically smashing the terminals, which granted them a brief reprieve.

However, this relief proved to be short-lived when Sideways sucked the minds of the kids as well as their partner Mini-Cons into a cyberspace landscape of his own devising. Rad and Carlos actually enjoyed the lack of gravity in this new realm for a while before Sideways' digital avatar appeared to them and tried to claim their Mini-Cons.

Back at the base, Billy and Fred tried to wake the trio up. Meanwhile, in cyberspace, the kids and Mini-Cons fled Sideways, and discovered that all they saw was just an elaborate illusion. Sideways managed to capture Sureshock, but then Alexis realized that since he had gone to so much effort, he clearly wasn't in control of this illusion - and also that he couldn't really harm them.

At this, Sideways panicked and made a desperate bid to take the Mini-Cons, but the kids' lack of belief in the world they saw put paid to that plan. At that point, a massive force of evil manifested in cyberspace - Unicron, the one entity Sideways feared! The kids fled back to the meatspace through a portal opened by Red Alert, leaving Sideways to his master's mercies. Chase

When Fred tried to tell the others about strange lights seen recently in space, Carlos just thought he was being silly. All the kids expressed relief when Sideways appeared on the battlefield during the next Mini-Con related skirmish, as this meant he couldn't hack their system again. The Autobots won this battle, bringing Prowl into the fold, and the kids were all there to welcome him when they took him back to base. Tactician

In a subsequent battle, Optimus Prime was seriously injured, forcing Jetfire to take command. None of the kids were impressed by the new guy's constant boasting. They also got a brief history lesson on battles the Autobots had lost due to Thrust's tactical genius; while Carlos was confident that Jetfire could easily counter Thrust, the others weren't so sure.

As it turned out, the kids were right about Jetfire, as his overconfidence nearly led to the Autobots being taken out after he got himself caught in another of Thrust's ambushes. To his credit, Jetfire was contrite, saying he had learned his lesson and would be more cautious in future. Linkup

The next day, the kids watched Jetfire and Smokescreen have an arm-wrestling competition; Carlos was confused, as Alexis cheered for both. They also filled in Jetfire on who Sideways was and what he had previously gotten up to. Jetfire then displayed his cunning side by showing the kids a still of Sideways shooting down Cyclonus after Sideways had defected, which cast doubt on the turncoat's allegiance to the Decepticons. The kids tried to figure out what Sideways's deal was, while the Autobots went to obtain yet another Mini-Con. Detection

While the Autobots were dealing with Tidal Wave, two Mini-Cons were detected in addition to the one the Transformers were at the time specifically fighting over - one on the Moon, and the other right in the Autobot base! The kids and Street Action Mini-Cons rushed off to look for the one on Earth, locating it when Fred fell through a rotten floor. This Mini-Con revealed itself as Sky Blast before shooting High Wire and running off. Awakening The kids gave chase, and Sky Blast eventually came round, having just been scared. In order to complete the Requiem Blaster, Red Alert took Sky Blast, Rad, and Carlos to the beach where the factions' main forces were duking it out; while Alexis alerted the other Autobots to the situation, Rad and Carlos sought out Payload.

The situation grew grimmer for the Autobots, until Sky Blast walked off and played a melody which awoke both Payload on the beach and Astroscope on the moon; the three Mini-Cons came together and did indeed form the Requiem Blaster, which Optimus Prime obtained and used, forcing the Decepticons to retreat. Desperate

In the light of this, the kids became concerned about the rights of the Mini-Cons, and so took the Space Mini-Con Team out to a remote farmhouse where they could be safe. They were tracked down by Thrust, but he got caught in a set of traps the kids had rigged up, stalling him long enough for Optimus Prime to come by and save the day. After an impassioned discussion as to why the Mini-Cons should not be viewed as mere weapons, the kids and Mini-Cons both returned to base. Runaway

All three kids were present when Side Swipe made his rather eager appearance at the base, but they weren't terribly impressed and went off to play a video game Past at which Alexis beat all comers. Past II

Later, the kids stayed at the base with Red Alert when the Autobots went out to counter a Decepticon attack. However, this attack proved to be nothing more than a distraction posed by Starscream, while the rest of the 'Cons attacked the Autobot base in search of the Requiem Blaster. The kids ran for hiding before the Autobots warped back, and bore witness to Megatron obtaining the Blaster and using it on Smokescreen, apparently killing him. Sacrifice Smokescreen clung to life, if only barely, and Red Alert went to task fixing him. As they watched, the children were given a brief lesson in Cybertronian anatomy, specifically on what a Spark was. Afterwards, Starscream joined the ranks of the Autobots. Though the kids were initially suspicious, they eventually welcomed him when they saw his attendant Mini-Cons genuinely looked up to him. Regeneration Despite this display of camaraderie, Starscream dismissed them, as he was only concerned with defeating Megatron. The kids favorable opinion on Starscream was further cemented when they watched him aid the Autobots rescue the Decepticon-held Mini-Cons from the enemy's moonbase. Rescue Later, the kids asked Starscream to bring them back a souvenir when he and Jetfire travelled to Mars in search of a Mini-Con panel. In spite of his rude, lone-wolf demeanor, Starscream brought back a mysterious green rock for the kids, thus earning him a place in their hearts. Mars

In return for his kindness, the kids threw Starscream a surprise party, sewing a large Chamois of Friendship out of several smaller rags. Starscream was touched by this, but unfortunately still had trouble adjusting to life with the Autobots. Rad, Alexis, and Carlos later took the Race Mini-Con Team out for a walk, inadvertently leading to Starscream being accused of stealing the Skyboom Shield for the Decepticons. Though the kids explained themselves to Hot Shot, the damaged had been done, and Starscream abandoned both his gift and the Autobots when he was duped into returning to the Decepticons by Thrust, ostensibly so as to destroy Megatron. Crack Enraged at Starscream's betrayal, Carlos and Billy threw their Mars rocks away, while Rad and Alexis tried to calm them down. Carlos then went home to bed.

The next day, all the kids returned to the base to discover the Autobots and their allied Mini-Cons working quickly to complete the Axalon in order to retrieve the Decepticons' Mini-cons. The kids discussed Starscream a bit and decided never to speak of him again. At Fred's suggestion, they all went to see a comet to take their minds off things. The comet was destroyed by the Decepticons' newly completed Hydra Cannon as the children watched. Threaten Awed by the might of the super-weapon, the kids could only stand around and wonder what to do next. Crisis

As it turned out, the Decepticons were thwarted through the noble sacrifice of Optimus Prime. The kids all suffered a heartfelt grief.

Over the next week, the Autobots busied themselves with completing the Axalon, but Hot Shot and Scavenger soon came to blows. The kids were confused by this and followed the two to an abandoned highway, where it turned out Scavenger was trying to snap Hot Shot out of his own depression. When the rest of the Autobots joined in abusing Hot Shot, the kids tried to persuade them that bullying their youngest member wouldn't help anything, but were overruled by Red Alert, who insisted that they had to get this out of their system.

After a while of this, Hot Shot did come to terms with Optimus Prime's death, and everybody's morale was raised; it was raised so much so, in fact, that Hot Shot was chosen as the Autobots' new commander. Remorse

Under Hot Shot's understandably unsteady command, the Axalon was soon completed and preparations made to depart for Cybertron. Carlos was particularly looking forward to seeing another planet, and was crushed when Hot Shot told them that he was leaving them on Earth where it was safe. All the kids glumly returned home, but ever hopeful, Carlos packed his bags anyway. Rad called round the next morning and the lads, along with Alexis, headed for the Autobot base.

When they arrived, Hot Shot once again insisted that it was too dangerous for them to come along. Upon hearing this, the Mini-Cons collectively rebelled and blocked all the ship's systems, refusing to budge until the kids were allowed on. Hot Shot relented, and the kids and Autobots blasted off into space. Depart

During the journey, the kids bore witness to the arrival of thousands of new Mini-Cons and the rebirth of Optimus Prime, Miracle the conflict with Nemesis Prime, and the Mini-Con powered recoloration of several Autobots and Decepticons. Puppet

Following a confrontation with the Decepticons, the Autobots arrived on Cybertron to discover it had already fallen to Galvatron. When the Street Action Mini-Cons led their little buddies to form a shield against Unicron, Carlos jumped out with them, but Blurr saved him from becoming a stain on the ground. The Mini-Cons returned, but soon tried to return to the surface of Cybertron. Carlos objected out of fear for their safety, but Rad and Alexis overruled him, arguing that the Mini-Cons had a right to set foot on their home planet. Uprising With the Mini-Cons gone, the kids were left with nothing much to do but watch the lights of battle on the surface. They did try to stop Hot Shot making a one-robot mission to the heart of the Decepticon stronghold to warn Galvatron about the impending threat of Unicron, but then Rad persuaded everyone to let him go ahead with it. Dash

At some point, Carlos walked in on Rad in the human-sized shower which the Autobots had previously installed on the ship. They talked about how Rad felt like he'd met High Wire before, but Carlos thought that was totally loco. Shortly thereafter, they got a transmission from High Wire that Hot Shot, Wheeljack, and Starscream were independently chasing Thrust (who had in the meantime allied with Sideways and Unicron) beneath Cybertron's surface. The lads went to see Alexis, and the trio then joined up with their partner Mini-Cons to plunge deep into the heart of Cybertron.

They came across Starscream standing off against Thrust. Thrust seized the opportunity and threatened the kids with the Requiem Blaster, and so Starscream, remembering their earlier kindness, bravely threw himself into the path of the blast, saving them. At that point, time warped and the kids found themselves millions of years in the past, in an alternate timeline. They encountered Hot Shot, being entangled by a semi-organic growth; Hot Shot revealed that the Mini-Cons had been created by Unicron, and the Transformers' use of them had led to the downfall of the entire race.

With that happy thought, the kids were sent back even further in time, where they witnessed the first Mini-Cons being spawned. Among these were High Wire, Sureshock, and Grindor. High Wire gained free will by his encounter with the kids, which then spread telepathically among all the other Mini-Cons.

Finally, the kids were warped back to a few seconds back before Thrust killed Starscream, allowing the Mini-Cons to combine into Perceptor and knock Thrust's aim off. Thrust's blast was redirected, saving Starscream. The ceiling then collapsed, but Starscream used his own body to shield the kids while Thrust flew off. At that point, Hot Shot and Wheeljack arrived. Drift They explained the situation, and the fact that Starscream had saved them. Hot Shot ordered them to return to the Axalon, but the kids managed to persuade him to let them tag along. The kids and carbots sped along behind Starscream, following him through a portal to an organic-looking area where Thrust and Sideways were waiting.

The team continued to explore the tunnels, and various organic... things soon separated Alexis and Starscream from the rest of the group. Rad, Carlos, the Mini-Cons, and carbots made it to the surface, where they met up with Alexis and Starscream again. Then, the group made two shocking discoveries in quick succession. First, the organic tunnels they had been exploring were actually the interior of Cybertron's moon. Second, that moon wasn't actually a moon, but the dormant body of Unicron. Unicron began to awaken, and Jetfire arrived just in time to take the kids to safety. Portent

Carlos was present when Alexis' necklace broke upon Starscream's death Cramp, and also attended the meeting at which the Autobots and Decepticons established a temporary truce to deal with the chaos bringer, where he was visibly concerned for Alexis. Alliance

When Optimus Prime and Galvatron managed to sneak inside Unicron, the Street Action Mini-Cons decided to infiltrate the titan's body as well. The children and Red Alert tagged along, barely avoiding getting crushed getting through the warp gate that led to Unicron's interiors. Union Red Alert was left behind, but the rest of the group soldiered forth. They found the two leaders restrained by Unicron's tentacles, with Unicron trying to verbally break Optimus Prime through Sideways' vocal synthesizer. Unicron destroyed the Mini-Cons' human-derived personalities, restoring them to blank drones, and then dragged the kids into a bizarre mindscape. However, the kids' mental fortitude was strong enough not only to break Unicron's thrall over them, but also to restore the individual personalities of the Mini-Cons. The kids and Mini-Cons then managed to release the weapons, allowing Optimus Prime to blow up Sideways with the Requiem Blaster.

However, on the way out, Galvatron challenged Optimus Prime to a final battle, Origin on the grounds that as long as both of them still existed, the hatred and enmity would last forever and thus Unicron would never be permanently defeated. The kids fled, and were picked up by Jetfire and Cyclonus on Unicron's surface. Optimus Prime won the battle, and Unicron and Galvatron were both (apparently) destroyed.

Hot Shot and Jetfire returned the kids to Earth, where they said tearful (but temporary) goodbyes. Carlos was particularly upset, actually breaking into tears. Mortal Combat

Legends comic

Carlos was at the beach with his friends when Alexis was pulled into the Legends World to help save Starscream from sacrificing himself. LG-18 Armada Starscream Super Mode Prologue

Energon cartoon

Voice actor: Matt Hill (English), Junichi Endō (Japanese), Leo Hallerstam (Swedish), Yoann Sover (French), Saku Mäkynen (Finnish), Simone Crisari (Italian), Inés Blázquez (Castilian Spanish), Cezary Kwiecinski (Polish)

When Dr. Brian Jones traveled to Cybertron with his son, Kicker, he also brought along Rad, Alexis, and Carlos to the alien planet. Team Optimus Prime

In 2020, Carlos was posted on the Earth Federation's space station orbiting Mars, where he alerted forces on Earth to a surprise attack by Alpha Quintesson's Terrorcons. Later, Hot Shot inquired about the attack, but Carlos was unable to provide any additional information. Cybertron City He continued scanning for Cyclonus and Tidal Wave, but after many grid searches he came up fruitless. Instead he found a comet that miraculously disappeared, which caused him to utter the immortal phrase "Holy frijoles", thus proving he wasn't a horrible ethnic stereotype. Scorpinok

Some time later, he detected the resurrected Starscream approaching Asteroid City and warned the Autobots. Battle of the Asteroid Belt He also detected three mysterious comets (actually lumps of Unicron) speeding towards Earth, and as usual, warned everybody about them. Energon Grid The comets were destroyed, and in the aftermath Hot Shot tried to contact him regarding any other potential threats, but was cut off by an emergency transmission from Rodimus. Rodimus Friend or Foe?

Carlos then tracked a couple of Terrorcons that Ironhide had previously tagged, triangulating them to Unicron's head and body. Go for Unicron!

Cybertron cartoon

Apparently Carlos wants to be the next Ricardo Montalbán.

In 2030, Carlos and his friends were present when the Autobots departed Earth to begin construction of a galaxy-spanning space bridge network. Beginning

Dreamwave Armada continuity

Dreamwave Armada comic

When Rad and Carlos were in the third grade, Rad accidentally broke a window in Carlos's house with a baseball bat. Carlos's parents didn't want their son hanging out with Rad afterwards, but Carlos convinced them to change their minds, vouching for the good nature of his friend. Armada Free Comic Book Day

Under the codename "Agent Sidekick" (assigned to him by Rad), Carlos put his mechanic skills to use on Project Supernova, an aircraft made up of cardboard and balloons. On the launch day, the vehicle successfully took flight, but soon crashed due to sabotage by bullies Sid and Seth. Carlos tried to cheer his friends up by saying they could build a new Project Supernova, any plans of that were postponed when Rad accidentally fell into a cave and awakened four Mini-Cons. Confused as to what to do, the kids brought the alien robots to Rad's garage, where Carlos awkwardly presented them with his toolbox so they could repair themselves. This brought the rage of Alexis down on him, but he still agreed with Rad that the visitors from space were really cool. The following morning, the Mini-Cons had not only repaired themselves, but made a new and improved version of Project Supernova. They offered to take Carlos and his friends for a ride, which they gladly agreed to. Armada #3 Unfortunately, their new Mini-Con friends were targeted for capture by Megatron, and the kids found themselves dragged into the Transformers' war. An argument broke out between Rad and Alexis, but Carlos broke it up and pointed out that it wasn't just about them: by keeping the Mini-Con around, they were endangering everyone they knew. They ended up trying to escape, with Carlos fleeing on High Wire's bike mode, and ran into several Autobots. Armada #4

Carlos and the others watched the Autobots and Decepticons for a while before sneaking off and almost getting killed by Demolishor. In the end, the Decepticons were chased off, and the kids were introduced to Optimus Prime. Armada #5 Unfortunately, their newfound friendship with the alien robots didn't last. While Carlos was watching Rad skate (and lose his board) one day, Optimus Prime approached them and explained that the humans could no longer get involved with the Transformers' war, for their own safety. Carlos was angry that their Mini-Con friends didn't get a say in things, but Prime didn't budge. However, Sparkplug disobeyed his orders and took the humans with him during a mission to infiltrate the Decepticon base in Silver Ridge. Armada #6 When they weren't back in thirty minutes, Carlos and the others did as they were told and called for help, which arrived in the form of the Land Military Mini-Con Team. Armada #7

Seeking extra class credit for science class, Carlos and Rad went on a nature hike on their bikes. During their venture, they came across Swindle, apparently on the run from Starscream. Though Rad was suspicious of the little 'bot, Carlos welcomed this new friend with open arms. It helped that Swindle promised to give him rides to school if they helped in his bid for freedom. Before they could make headway, both Cyclonus and Starscream flew down to apprehend the group. Hot Shot, Smokescreen, and Red Alert turned up to rescue them, but the Autobots were defeated when Megatron joined the fight as well. Carlos and Rad tried to sneak off in the confusion, but Swindle turned on them; Swindle revealed that he had been put up to lure them into a trap, so Megatron would have some human subjects to experiment on. He hadn't done so out of malice however; Swindle explained to Carlos that he had only agreed to participate in this scheme because Starscream had promised to free him if he cooperated. Predictably enough, the Decepticons laughed in the Mini-Con's face when he asked to be let go. Optimus then turned up, and knocked Carlos and Rad free from Megatron's grip, allowing them to get to a hiding place while he faced off against the Decepticons. But Optimus was quickly defeated as well. A repentant Swindle thanked both of the boys for offering him friendship when he needed it, and freed all four of the captive Autobots, allowing them to force the Decepticons into a retreat. As he pulled back, Starscream retook Swindle, which saddened both of the boys. Armada Free Comic Book Day

Later, when Rad was being bullied by Billy after school, Carlos tried to help him but was hindered by Fred. The bullies were chased off by their friends on the Street Action Mini-Con Team, but while the kids were riding around on the Mini-Cons, they suddenly turned unresponsive and started speeding off towards Kansas. Carlos and the others were unable to get off until the Mini-Cons stopped, which they did near a strange monolith. Rad ended up entering the structure alongside the Mini-Cons, and Carlos and Alexis could only watch as it blasted off into space with their friend on board. Armada #8 Optimus Prime explained to them that Rad and the Earth Mini-Cons had apparently been taken to the Moon by another group of Mini-Cons. Armada #9 Prime got a gunship travel to the moon, but refused to endanger Carlos and Alexis by letting them come. Armada #10 However, simulcrum technology allowed them to be on board the ship in the form of holograms, which was almost like being there yourself. They watched Optimus Prime let Sky Blast tow an orbital mine into the ship: a mine that turned out to contain Rad! Armada #11

Much later, Carlos, Rad and Alexis said their goodbyes to the Autobots and Mini-Cons, who had to return to Cybertron for the fight against Unicron. The End

Energon comic

Ten years after their adventures with the Transformers, Carlos and Rad both worked for Alterenergy, a company in search of Energon. Carlos worked on the space station Comsat Alpha, from which he watched the Terrorcons' attack on an Alterenergy excavation site in Australia. He recognized the attackers as Transformers, and reported this to Rad and Doctor Jones on Earth. What Lies Beneath Carlos sent distress calls to Cybertron while continuing to monitor the situation, and learned that the Terrorcons had captured Alexis, who had coincidentally been in the vicinity of the attack. He then acted as mission control for Rad, who had gotten to the excavation site and was trying to rescue both Alexis and Kicker Jones. While Rad immediately got himself into trouble with Battle Ravage, Carlos saved him and Alexis by remotely ramming a vehicle into a nearby Energon stockpile, detonating it. What Lies Beneath, Part Three Rad and Alexis were okay, but Carlos couldn't send an evacuation vehicle their way because Alterenergy Mobile Command wasn't responding. He did, however, tell them that the Autobots were heading their way. What Lies Beneath, Part Four

By the time the Terrorcons began attacking four major Earth cities, Carlos was stationed at Alterenergy West Coast, where he prepared the E.V.A. for Rad's use. Multiplicity, Pt. 3 As Rad flew out in the E.V.A. to "bring Energon to the needy", Carlos watched him from afar and explained to a curious Alexis what the E.V.A. was. Multiplicity, Pt. 4

After Kicker was kidnapped by Demolishor, Carlos used the Autobot/AlterEnergy Mars base's sensors to track down the boy. Armageddon Part 2 With Carlos's help, Rad managed to find Kicker being held within a forcefield by Demolishor. Kicker informed Rad that the shield was specifically designed to counteract his energon abilities, and Carlos confirmed Kicker's assertions. But he also found that the shield was similar to AlterEnergy's own forcefield, and managed to bring it down through application of his knowledge on the technology. Armageddon Part 4 After Kicker killed Demolishor using his powers, he traveled to Cybertron, and Carlos, Rad, and Alexis said their goodbyes to him. Armageddon Part 5

Panini Armada comic

When Rad found the ruins of an old spaceship in a cave, Carlos came with him to check it out (and was very impressed). They accidentally stumbled into a computer terminal when Billy caused a rockfall outside, which led to the activation of the Mini-Cons. The first one they met was High Wire, but before he could even learn proper English, he was attacked by Megatron. While Megatron was distracted by Optimus Prime, High Wire grabbed Carlos, Rad and Alexis and took them to the other Mini-Cons. First Encounter! However, Rad was disgusted to hear that the Mini-Cons were unwilling to help Optimus fight Megatron, and decided to take matters into his own hands. Carlos wasn't so sure it was a good idea, but followed anyway. While Rad tried to negotiate with Megatron, Carlos made his way back into the caves in search of more Mini-Cons to help them. He didn't find any, but the time he returned, the other Mini-Cons had changed their minds and driven Megatron off anyway. Friends and Foes!

However, Carlos had managed to find the crashed ship's locator log, and he and his friends were sent back to retrieve it alongside the Street Action Team. Carlos led the expedition into the caves and found the log, but they soon found themselves under attack from Demolishor. They got away thanks to some quick thinking on Rad's side, but the locator log was destroyed in the process. Deep Trouble! After a slow day at school, Carlos went skating with some buddies at the local mall. Unfortunately for him, Grindor wanted to help him, and replaced his skateboard with his own rocket-powered skateboard mode. The ensuing crazy looping, grinding and flying was not well received by Carlos, who feared having to explain it all to the other skaters. Just a Memory!

Later, Carlos was present when the Autobots tried to send the Mini-Cons back to Cybertron, and thought it was a bad idea since the Autobots would be wiped out without their Mini-Con power-ups. Thankfully, the plans fell through and the Mini-Cons remained on Earth. No Way Back! Carlos was using Grindor to race with his friends when they were suddenly attacked by Starscream, out to capture the Street Action Team. The three Mini-Cons defended themselves in the form of Perceptor, until Optimus Prime turned up to help them. The Two-Edged Blade Shortly afterwards, Carlos, Rad and Alexis helped Amos Hume rescue the Land Military Mini-Con Team from the Extra-Terrestrial Response Division. Sale of the Century!

Reader's Digest Armada novels

10-year old Carlos was one of the many self-titled "Cosmo Kids" that lived in the community around the Cosmo Scope Research Center and Interstellar Observatory. During an early autumn afternoon, he and his friends Rad and Alexis headed out into the nearby mountains for some trail exploring. Carlos rode his skateboard on the trip, which eventually led to a trail that none of the kids had ever seen before. Carlos and Alexis were hesitant to continue down the trail when they spotted some signs indicating it was dangerous, but they were goaded on by Rad into pushing forwards. Carlos spotted a cave at the end of the trail, and his group decided to explore it. Within, they found cave paintings depicting giant robots battling one-another. One of the paintings depicted three smaller, peaceful-looking robots. As if prompted by an unknown instinct, Carlos reached out to touch one of the three robots. This action triggered a mechanism hidden within the cave, which after some rumbling, revealed real-life versions of the three robots the children had touched in the drawing. Carlos met Grindor, a Mini-Con who could only be understood by Carlos himself. The children learned about Cybertron and its civil war from their new robot friends. The moment was cut short when Autobots and Decepticons were teleported on-site by a mechanism within the Mini-Cons' ship. Finding themselves in the middle of a vicious battle between mechanical titans, Carlos and his friends thankfully escaped from harm thanks to the efforts of the Mini-Cons, and the newcomer, Optimus Prime. Learning that Optimus had the best of intentions for both Earth and the Mini-Cons, Carlos promised to keep the Transformers' existence a secret, and rode back to town on Grindor, now reformatted into a high-tech skateboard. Meeting with Alexis and Rad the next day at school, the trio dismissed insinuations from Billy and Fred that anything exciting had happened to them the day before before heading off to class. The Battle Begins

To explain to their parents how they had gotten totally sweet new extreme sports vehicles, Carlos and Alexis agreed to go along with a story that Rad had made up; the three of them had won their new gear in an extreme riding competition. Carlos's parents bought the story, and he took to riding Grindor to school. The next afternoon, he, Alexis and Rad readied themselves to visit the Autobots when they encountered Billy and Fred. Their schoolmates were inquisitive as to where they had gotten the new vehicles, and the trio knew they wouldn't be fooled by the story they had told their parents. Rad claimed that his dad had gotten them the vehicles through some "connections," and that they were the next year's model. Carlos and Alexis were quick to affirm his story. Having narrowly avoided exposure, the trio then took off for the Autobots' base. Strangely, they found the cave leading to the headquarters now sealed by a stone door. The Mini-Cons maintained a wireless connection to their vessel however, and were able to grant themselves access to the base. But once inside, the group found it deserted. They eventually found Optimus and his fellow Autobots, Hot Shot and Red Alert, at a nearby highway, adopting new alternate modes. After brief introductions were made, explosions were heard off in the distance. The Decepticons were attacking the Autobots' base! Carlos, Alexis and Rad raced ahead of the Autobots on their Mini-Cons, coming face to face with Megatron. The Decepticon leader halted his assault in order to demand the children surrender their companions. The Autobots arrived on the scene before Megatron was able to act on his threat, and Carlos and the others hid in some nearby brush to watch the battle unfold.

During the battle, a stray shot from Megatron caused a rock slide to tumble down towards the kids and their Mini-Cons. Hot Shot zipped in and rescued them, though the ride within the two-seat sports car was a cramped one for all three kids. As they drove back to Optimus, Alexis noticed four Mini-Con panels sticking out of the rubble. Carlos and Rad helped her dig them out. Two of the panels activated in the Autobots' presence, one of them becoming Red Alert's partner, "Longarm" and the other Hot Shot's partner "Jolt." Red Alert instructed the children to keep the remaining two panels safe, and they hid themselves once more. The Decepticons were soon forced to retreat, but one of them, Cyclonus, lingered long enough to snatch the panels from Alexis and Rad before warping away. The children were torn up about allowing the Mini-Cons to fall into enemy hands, but Optimus assured them they had done everything they could. Race for the Mini-Con Robots

Transformers Legends anthology

One Halloween, after explaining the holiday to their Mini-Cons, Carlos, Alexis, and Rad decided to give a practical demonstration. Carlos donned the Mini-Con costume he'd been building for the last several weeks, and they all went out Trick-or-Treating. Something Robotic This Way Comes

Bendon Armada books

Rad, Carlos, and Alexis talked Optimus Prime into letting them explore some nearby caves in the hopes of finding other Mini-Cons, claiming that he and Carlos had already explored a few of them in the past. The trio succeeded in finding a crystal, but had to be saved by Hot Shot after a surprise Decepticon attack caused a landslide. Cave Catastrophe

In another adventure, Carlos talked Rad into joining him for a Mini-Con race, to which Alexis invited herself. They foolishly left themselves out in the open, allowing Megatron to attack. Fortunately for them (your mileage may vary), Optimus and Hot Shot were there to save them yet again. Race to Disaster

Kre-O online comic

Carlos was at Metroplex when Superion defended the city from three attacking Decepticon combiners. Kre-O Micro-Changers Combiners comic

Notes

• According to the now-defunct TV Tokyo Legends of the Microns website, Carlos was 12 years old at the start of Armada. The page also stated that he is good at sports, loves rap and skateboarding, and has been friends with Rad since kindergarten.
• According to Transformers: Armada Official Guidebook, Carlos was ten years old at the start of Armada. It also specified that he enjoyed hip-hop, and that while he was not a great student, he was an excellent mechanic. Although this particular bit of his character didn't make it into the animated series, it was an important part of his role in Dreamwave Productions' Armada comics.
• Carlos makes an Easter egg cameo appearance in IDW's Robots in Disguise #29 as a resident of Poverty Flat.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Carlos (カルロス Karurosu)
• Korean: Carlos (카를로스 Kareulloseu)